Electric deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is generally used for therapy of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease. DBS involves placing an electrode inside the brain and applying, via the electrode, an electric stimulation field to functional areas of the brain so as to counteract brain malfunctions which lead to the symptoms to be treated. The extent and strength of the stimulation field should be configured in space and time so as to influence only relevant parts of the brain, i.e. a target structure which shall be the target of the therapy. A problem associated with finding a suitable configuration of the stimulation is field is that so far such a configuration could only be found out by trial-and-error on a living patient. For example, the electrode is placed inside the brain, and the stimulation field is activated. A physician then evaluates the patient's physical response, for example by monitoring a decrease in disease symptoms or other neurological reactions, such as movements of specific body parts (e.g. eyes, hands, or legs) in response to activating the stimulation field. Only on the basis of results received from such a trial-and-error procedure can a brain stimulation device (which the patient carries with him for example as an implant) be programmed to emit the desired electric stimulation field. Such a procedure is cumbersome and specifically associated with a certain risk for the patient due to the necessity of introducing the electrode, which also leads to considerable costs for running the trials.
An object of the invention therefore is to provide a more efficient method of determining a desired configuration of an electric stimulation field.
Aspects of the present invention, examples and exemplary steps and their embodiments are disclosed in the following. Different advantageous features can be combined in accordance with the invention wherever technically expedient and feasible.